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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fine — high quality
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. drill — a practice
  14. board — a committee
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fine — all right
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. tube — a container
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com